The New Guy
by Fawna Florence
Summary: After leaving Kyoshi Island, Aang, Katara, and Sokka "rescue" a young female Earthbender, who offers to help them with their Zuko problems by becoming a boy? AangxKatara SokkaxSuki ZukoxOC
1. How They Met

_(Disclaimer: All characters seen in **Avatar: The Last Airbender** belong to **Nickelodeon**. Keep that in mind so I don't have to repeat it at the beginning of every chapter, which gets annoying._

_Author's Note: Hello! I'm not quite sure how this is going to turn out. I'm bored, so I came up with this story idea. This starts right after the third episode, (fourth chapter, Book 1). I've only recently started to write, so please review. I need constructive criticism. -Smiles-)_

_**Chapter One**_

_**How They Met**_

A sound in the bushes made Prince Zuko pause. He eyed them up, preparing for an attack. He was more careful in enemy territory when his men weren't there to back him up. He couldn't take the chance of being caught by a band of warriors. People from Kyoshi could have followed his ship here for revenge.

He made the executive decision to play offense. He liked offense. Offense was _fun_.

With no further ado he hurled a fireball into the bushes. The scorching weapon ending up hitting an oh-so threatening tree, which instantly caught fire. To his shock, instead of people jumping out, a load of dirt took the leap, and threw itself upon the flaming tree. Jumping dirt equals Earthbender, that much he knew.

Sure enough, a girl came out of the bushes, but instead of paying her enemy any mind she talked to the flaming tree. He searched the tree line for more movement, in case she had friends, but was disappointed to see she did not. He's only opponent was the measly girl who didn't even have the sense to realize she wasn't alone. But he was no such fool, and quickly sized up his opponent, on the off chance that she might be a decent Bender.

She was quite clearly a teenager, and a pretty one at that. Her deep brown hair was just a bit shorter than her waist, accented with natural highlights, and was billowing in the wind gracefully. Her eyes were an interesting mixture of emerald green and bark brown, making them look a forest incorporated into the human body. Her long bangs playfully covered them. All she wore was a full length black dress which held nicely to her petite figure--but it was an odd thing to wear in summer.

"Don't cry! You've barely lost any bark, and I can fix that!" the girl insisted. It took him a moment to come to the conclusion that she was talking to the _tree_.

She closed her eyes, and took a deep breath as she brought her hands up until they were right in front of her face, then tapped her front foot. Around her chunks of rocks rose slowly from the ground. She then began to weave her hands around each other in a complex motion, never having her hands touch. After a moment of this she gently turned her hands so her palms faced her. It was a such an odd sight that Zuko began to wonder if she was actually Bending.

He couldn't resist the reflex to flinch when the proof of Bending presented itself: the clumps of dirt she had raised earlier were now shooting straight at her from every direction. With one tiny flick of her pinkies she stopped them from pummeling her. As she continued to Bend the dirt formed a line, and it was then that he noticed each bit of dirt had a thin piece of wood resting on it.

The girl opened her eyes, still seemingly unaware of his presence. She revealed her purpose by taking the piece of wood off of the first chunk, and placed it over the edge of the hole he had burned. It fit perfectly. Her other hand did a pulling motion, bringing the next rock closer while sending the first one back to the area from whence it came. She repeated this until the hole was completely covered.

He admired her handy work for a moment, before remembering who he was. "Earthbender…" he growled through his teeth.

Startled, she turned around to face him. She took in his appearance for a second, and when the flames began to ripple over his fists her gaze flickered from him to the tree, making the connection. "You're not very nice, hurting my friend like that! You need to go to the naughty corner and learn your lesson!" she said with a childish pout as she slid her back foot, getting into a better fighting position.

"Naughty corner?" he demanded, incredulously. "Not until hell freezes over…" He allowed the flames ignited on his fists to grow to a more useful size. "…and the Fire Nation makes too much heat for _that_ to happen."

Feeling proud of the wit in what he had said, Prince Zuko released his fireballs with his trademark smirk in tow.

- - - - -

"Food! I need food!" Sokka fell onto his face in a bow-like position, trying to emphasize his point. Appa gave a grunt at the pounding. The saddle and thick fur absorbed most of the weak blow, but Appa was bored, and wanted to make a scene.

"How is that humanly possible? We just left Kyoshi Island! There is no way you can be hungry already!" Katara, his sister, stood up, glaring at him. It wouldn't bother her so much, except he refused to do any of the cooking, calling it women's work, and depended on her to appease the endless pit that was Sokka's stomach. Normally he wasn't that bad. It was usually only when something was gnawing at him that he constantly wanted to gnaw on some grub. Something that he didn't want her to know. Something that he thought he could hide by distracting her with his whining. "What are you hiding?"

He immediately shot up, trying to seem casual. "Who, me? I'm not hiding anything!"

Aang leapt off of Appa's head, landing right next to Katara, offering his childish grin to his friends. "I bet it has something to do with _Suki_. He was looking at her all funny when we were leaving. Did she beat you in another fight just before we left or something?"

The comment hurled Sokka into defensive mode. He crossed his arms over his chest, trying to appear tough, but instead he looked like a fitful kid. "She couldn't beat me!"

"Of course not. And all those times you ended up on the floor with her standing above you were nothing? Admit it, you asked her to teach you. I know. I saw you in the dress." Katara smiled, knowing she had got him.

"Ah, man! You saw the dress?" He turned away and smiled, absentmindedly talking aloud to himself, "at least she didn't see the kiss-"

"Try running that by me again?" Katara raised her eyebrow, only catching the last bit of his sentence. "Did you say _kiss_?"

Sokka was the definition of wide eyed terror. "I said nothing!"

"Of course. Kissing being nothing," she teased, and then it clicked. "You had your first kiss! With…" Now there was the tough bit. Who would kiss Sokka? None of the girls on the island seemed to like him. At all. But then, Granny had always said that young children pick on those they like, and Sokka was basically a child. "Suki?" No… Not possible… But then she saw Sokka's face become as red as a tomato. "_Suki? _I thought you guys hated each other!"

"Too bad he'll never see her again," said Aang with a careless shrug.

Katara sighed at the Avatar. Too young to even know what he said had been so cruel. "Wait a minute…" murmured Katara, realization dawning on her face. Before they had left, Suki had said…

"Oh, yeah!" replied Aang, nodding his head in agreement.

Despite his normal ignorance, Sokka knew they were talking about Suki. And that it would be something he would love to know. "What? WHAT? Tell me!" he begged pitifully.

"Oh, nothing," said Aang, "I mean it's not like-" He caught Katara in the corner of his eye, her index finger over her lips. He promptly shut his mouth.

"Not like what? C'mon guys! Tell me! Please!" He threw himself onto the saddle, earning another grunt from Appa.

"Hm… How much should I give away?" Aang looked up into the sky, not bothering to make sure that Appa was staying on course. He had always been lazy when it came to steering a flying bison.

"All of it, you-" Sokka was cut off.

"Look down there, guys!" Katara was leaning out of the giant saddle, pointing down to one of the islands that were scattered all around Kyoshi. The two boys joined her, wondering what had their companion so excited. Also curious was Aang's flying lemur, Momo, who climbed onto Katara's head.

Below them, on one of the islands that seemed like a little forest on water, dust was rising. It didn't take much thought to figure what was happening.

"Looks like Aang had the right idea when he said we should circle over this area to make sure Zuko didn't make trouble. That guy just can't learn!" Katara said, getting up. Momo instantly jumped from her head, not appreciating the sudden movement.

"Well," said Sokka, pulling out his boomerang, "he hasn't had very many lessons."

"Guess it's time for another one," said Aang. He grabbed the reins, and tugged Appa to the right direction.

"We need to be careful…" started Katara.

"Don't worry, Katara. We're always careful! Time to help another poor, defenseless person," said Aang, thrusting his fist into the air. Katara gave a nod as they lowered, but her frown, and her brow crinkled with worry, gave away that she was not quite as confident.

"See you guys soon!" yelled Aang as he threw himself off of Appa, while they were still at least a hundred feet above the ground.

Katara rolled her eyes at the young boy. "Show-off," she whispered to herself.

Aang shot a blast of air through his staff, forcing wings to pop out in several places. He set it on his back, shoving air under the wings so he could fly gently down to the island. He allowed himself to settle in the woods, glad for the cover. The less time Prince Zuko had to prepare for him, the better. As soon as his feet brushed the ground he was running toward the cloud of dust the fight had created.

Through the trees he was able to see fire and earth colliding in the middle of the sky. Knowing the person was an Earthbender brought some relief, but not enough. There was no doubt in his mind that the Earthbender would eventually fall to the power of the banished Fire Nation prince.

With one hand firmly holding his still winged staff, he rushed out of the woods. He didn't think, he just did. Without getting a good look at the Earthbender Aang grabbed them with one hand, all his concentration on getting himself and his passenger off of the ground. He put a lot of power into it, expecting the passenger to be heavier than they were, making his takeoff more wobbly than he would have liked. Even though the Bender were lighter than expected, they were still hard to hold up with one arm, and Aang gripped them as tightly as he could, praying to high heaven that he wouldn't lose his strength.

Appa quickly flew below him, allowing him to drop the Earthbender, and more easily avoid Zuko's fireballs. He did several circles to distract the angry prince from the others before making his escape, offering only a cheerful goodbye wave to Zuko for his trouble.

Aang landed with a pleased strut, and looked over his crew, only to find a problem. Before him was a youthful girl--not an old, buff, _male _warrior. He remembered some of the Bending he had seen, and jumped to conclusions.

"Oh, no! There must have been more than one person down there! I better go get the warrior and-"

"Why would you do that, silly?" asked the girl, playing with her hair. At first glance she looked like a teenager, but the way she talked made him think she was far younger.

Aang looked at the girl, stunned. "Don't you want me to help your friend?"

"How can _you_ help the trees?"

"Trees?" repeated Aang, shaking his head. Girls. "I was going to save the guy who was defending you."

"No man defended me," she replied lightly, mimicking him by shaking her head. "Why do you assume I would a need a silly man to protect me?" Boys.

Aang decided to ignore the girl's confusing prattle. "Was it a warrior from Kyoshi? I didn't think any of them could bend."

"I'm a warrior in training, and I'm not suppose to be able to. Duh." She wasn't even bothering to look at him anymore, instead concentrating on braiding her hair.

"Wait! _You_ were the person Earthbending?"

She nodded, and Aang couldn't help but to feel odd under her gaze. It was weird seeing someone whose body looked older than him behave so much younger.

"Okay. Guess I don't have to worry about returning to the island then…" Aang said, embarrassed, and walked off, deciding it was time to start heading for the North Pole again.

Katara, on the other hand, moved closer to the girl, and sat down beside her. After hesitating she lifted up some of the girl's soft hair, and began to braid as well, earning herself a broad smile.

"So," said Katara, "What's your name?"

"Ka-hor-i." She sang out each syllable gaily.

"How old are you, Kahori?"

"Seven."

Katara stopped braiding, staring at the girl. Sokka, who had been snacking on a bread roll Katara had given him, began to choke. Once he managed to get the food down he stared at Kahori, looking her over. "There is no way you're seven."

Kahori's face scrunched up with anger, and she crawled over to Sokka, giving him a vicious smack on the head, pulling enough power behind it to knock him over. "How dare you call me a liar! My mama taught me good. I. Don't. Lie."

"Um… Well then…" Katara wanted to start up a conversation, but the girl's odd ways had taken her by surprise. All the same, Kahori was staring at her, obviously expecting her to do something now that she had spoken.

"Well… I'm Katara. I'm fifteen. That's my brother, Sokka, he's eighteen. The kid steering is Aang, whose fourteen."

The girl nodded. "The Avatar." The others all turned to gape at her.

"How did you know that?" ask Aang, clearly surprised.

"The arrow markings on you are of the Air Nomads," she stated, as if it were common knowledge.

"Yeah, but there's no way you've ever seen an Airbender before, so how did you know about the arrows?"

She paused, and they all leaned closer, bodies tense, desperate to know the answer.

"I dunno." The three fell smack on their faces.

"I'm tired. I think I'll get some sleep." With that Kahori yawned and lied back, asleep before she had become comfortable.

"Well, she's trusting," muttered Sokka.

"What makes you say that?" questioned Aang, giving a small jump as he sat back up.

"Well, she barely knows us, even if the information we gave her was true. We could be taking her anywhere, and do anything while she's asleep."

"But we wouldn't do anything."

"She doesn't know that."

"Good point."

"So…" Sokka tried to sound as casual as possible. "What were you saying about Suki earlier?"

"Oh, yeah. That…"

"C'mon, man! Tell me! I have the right to know!"

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I'm going to tell you!" replied Aang as he pranced away.

_(Author's Note: What do you think? I know it's not the longest thing in the world, but it still gives a lot of information. I'm quite proud of myself, this story has a lot of potential. Ya know ya love it. Zuko will also become a big part of this story, because I think he's the most amusing character…)_


	2. The Plan

_(Author's Notes: First off, I would like to say HOLY CRAP! I was bored and checked this out the day after I had posted it, and I had a review! Yeah… I was pumped. One of those first review ever sorta things… Huggles to **raven11wolf**, who was not turned off by my horrible summary, and actually reviewed. Plus, it wasn't a flame! Oh, wait… I'm rambling again…_

_Thanks to **Gabby Kamoose** (I love that you've read both of them, by the way. Double thanks!) and **Raven-999**!_

_Okay, I know this isn't the most thrilling thing I could have written, but I felt that we should all get to know Kahori a bit. The next chapters should be more amusing, if they come out right. Soon there will be a lot less Aang, Katara, and Sokka, replaced by our dear Zuko. But for now, there's this chapter… You can decide whether that's good or bad, I'm going to go sleep…)_

_**Chapter Two**_

_**The Plan**_

"Good morning all!"

Sokka wearily opened his eyes, giving a jump when he found Kahori's face just above his own. As a cowardly reflex he dived back into his sleeping bag.

"C'mon now! Don't be shy! Katara said you encouraged early rises, so up with you!"

"But today we don't have anyone chasing us!" protested Sokka. His words were barely audible with his sheets muffling his voice.

"Zuko," she said, her voice nonchalant.

"Where?" Sokka sprang up, frantically looking around, his trusty boomerang in hand. He received a strong pat on the back.

"You're definitely up, so eat already! Then we can be on our way!"

Now realizing that Prince Zuko was nowhere nearby Sokka began to grumble, but despite his bad mood he happily excepted the food Kahori offered him. He studied her face, sensing something different about her appearance. "Didn't your eyes have a lot of brown in them yesterday?" he asked. Today they were completely green, giving her a completely different look.

"They change color. Based on my personality…" she replied, rubbing the back of her neck uncomfortably. He nodded as if changing eye color was nothing unusual. He had never heard of it before… But, hey, the proof that it was possible was right in front of him.

Looking around Sokka noticed that Aang and Katara were still asleep. "Why did you only wake me up?" he whined, before eagerly stuffing the food into his mouth.

"Well," she pointed at Aang, "he's probably tired from '_saving_' me yesterday," she then pointed towards Katara, "and since she watches over the two of you I _**know**_ she must be exhausted. As well as no other person can be as hungry as a teenage boy." She gave him a smile along with her last comment. Sokka couldn't help but to nod. No words had ever been so true.

"How come you were so sarcastic when you mentioned that Aang saved you?" he asked, but in way he asked Kahori knew the answer didn't really matter to him. He was just curious.

"One can't be saved unless they were in need of saving. I wasn't." She paused for a moment, biting on her lip. "Yesterday… I lied. Well, not lied really. I thought I was telling the truth. And, well, I'm seven_teen_, not… Seven."

Sokka shoved some more of the breakfast into his mouth. "Sorry that I don't act surprised, but I knew you were lying. And by the way, your cooking is really good."

She gave him a look that could kill. "I told you, I don't lie."

"Forgetting to add the 'teen' to your age is lying."

"Not when you think you're seven," she snapped back, still upset at being called a liar.

Sokka rolled his eyes. "So, what? When you act like a kid you lie about your age so people don't think badly of you or something? And then when you actually act your age you decide to tell the truth?"

Kahori sniffed, and tossed her hair over her shoulder. "It's not that simple, simpleton. When I'm around trees for too long the regression kicks in… Normally I return home before I lose it like that, but it's been taking effect faster…"

Sokka actually stopped throwing food into his mouth so he could swallow, and give a response without food in his mouth to mumble his words. "Regason? Lose it? Effects? What are you talking about?"

"Regression. It's a defense mechanism. When the mind has to deal with something it can't handle, it has ways to protect itself. For example, if someone goes through a traumatic event, they might begin to behave like they did before the event. Regressing in age. Regression. Exposure to something that reminds them of the event can cause relapses. I suffer from something like that."

He studied her, feeling free to pop smaller bites into his mouth so he could still talk properly. "Uh-huh. And what was this traumatic event of yours? The guy you like shoot you down or something?"

She looked down, suddenly fascinated with the craftsmanship of the saddle. "My father." She said after a long pause, her voice shaky. "He was very much into nature, forests, things like that. Obsessed really. With my mother gone he became more and more consumed with his obsession. He would spend days on the islands that are only forest. Then weeks… Then fortnights… Then…" She took a deep breath.

"One day, he didn't come back. The town sent out a search party, which I demanded to be a part of. He was the only family I had left, and I was desperate to find him, and find him we did. Sometimes I wish that we hadn't…"

Sokka gave a stiff nod, aware of how even the story of losing a loved one hurt, but he had to know what happened. He hated cliffhangers.

"Hedlosthismind!" She gushed. Catching Sokka's look of confusion she realized she had said it too quickly. She clasped her hands together, digging her nails into her own skin to calm herself. "He was insane. He didn't recognize any of us. When we tried to remind him he became furious. He said that his only friends were the forests and all plant life within. And then he attacked us and raced off. No one saw hide nor head of him since. By now he's more than likely dead.

"Now, whenever I stay in a forest for too long I regress. I lost him when I was nine. I regress back to seven though. Back to when he spent most of his time at home…" She allowed her gaze to shift to the horizon, where the sun was just beginning to rise.

Sokka looked thoughtful as he chewed. "Why were you in a forest then? Wouldn't you want to avoid them if they trigger your regression?"

"That would probably be the most sensible thing, but I had hoped that through constant exposure I would cure myself of it, though it seems to be having the reverse effects. It's a weakness… I hate being weak."

"Don't look at it as a weakness…" He said, hoping that was the right thing to say. "The way I see it, there's something wrong with your blood. Like a defect."

"Excuse me?" Kahori's voice came out shrill.

"I said, 'sounds like a defect-" his sentence ended when Kahori flicked him in the side of the head. He watched in amusement as one of her eyebrows began to twitch.

"What. The. HELL?" It was at that moment that she threw herself at him, tackling him to the ground. Segments of her hair slid off of her back continuously, creating a dark aura around her. "How dare you insult my family!"

Sokka blinked stupidly, not sure what was going on, Instead of replying, he watched his bread roll away. As it picked up each new speck of filth he could feel himself growing more and more angry, until he finally snapped.

Using all his strength he got his legs out from under her pin, and used them to shove her off. "What is with girls and acting weird so often! I was _comforting _with you! Now, because of you unjustly going berserk on me, I lost a perfectly good piece of bread!"

"How thick can you possibly be? You call telling someone their family is defected _comforting_?"

"I was pointing out that it wasn't a weakness!"

"You think _defect_ is better than a weakness?

"Not the point! I mean, focus! What about my BREAD?"

"What about my FAMILY?"

"BREAD!"

"Okay, I know some guys are obsessed with food, but YOU ARE TOO MUCH!"

"Suki?"

Both Kahori and Sokka whirled around to find the small comment had come from sleepy Aang, woken by their _very_ loud quarrel. Aang rubbed his eyes and blinked a few times, clearing his vision. He looked around curiously.

"Where's Suki? I could've sworn I just heard her…" said Aang, full of conviction.

"How can you compare _her_," Sokka pointed an accusing finger at Kahori, "to Suki?" He was clearly enraged by the idea.

"Oh. So she was the one shouting. She sounded like Suki." Aang gave a shrug.

"Could you back up the conversation a bit? You guys know Suki?" Kahori interjected.

"_You_ know Suki?" yelled Sokka, unable to believe what he was hearing.

"Of course. She's currently the only one, beside you guys and that Zuko character, who know that I can Earthbend."

"Suki never mentioned you," stated Sokka, crossing his arms. "Or if she knows you, she must not like you."

"I'll have you know that Suki and I have been best friends since we were tiny! She's the one training me to be a warrior, and helping with my Bending. What makes you think you know Suki so well anyways?"

"Uh, well… Um…" Sokka's face turned a deep shade of crimson.

"Wait a moment." Kahori eyed him up, and then grinned wickedly. "Did you two kiss or something?"

"How did you know? Is she a cheap kiss or something?"

Her grin fell. "No. No, no, no, no. That was me laughing over the most unlikely scenario."

"Well, it's the most likely scenario."

"Why would she kiss you?"

"Why does everyone ask that question? Why wouldn't she kiss me is what you should all be asking yourselves!" Sokka struck a pose and flexed. "This is some hot stuff right here!"

"Wait… Did you _force_ yourself on her?"

"What? No! _She_ kissed _me_!"

"What was Suki thinking?"

"Why are you asking me?"

"You're her lover, or so you claim. You're suppose to know these things!"

"I'm not her _lover_!" He could feel his face getting hotter as he blush deepened. Why did she had to say lover? That usually implied things….

"What? Is there another girl?"

"NO!"

Aang watched the exchange with fascination. But even with all the action his eyes drifted over to Katara.

"Hush, guys! Katara's still asleep! I thought you two were loud enough to wake the dead!"

"She even more exhausted than I originally thought…" commented Kahori.

"Could wake the dead?" mumbled Sokka to himself. He slowly crawled over to Katara, leaning over her, his ear just above her mouth. He breathed a sigh of relief when he heard her steady breathing.

"It's only an expression, you twit! Aang wasn't suggesting that she died overnight! Don't you think he would more depressed?" pointed out Kahori.

"I knew she was still alive!" said Sokka, clearly flustered about being caught caring about his sister.

Kahori rolled her eyes at him, but couldn't help but to think that Suki may have actually made a good choice in the overprotective boy.

- - - - -

"I can't believe the Avatar got away again!" The candles Prince Zuko had recently been using in a desperate attempt to calm down, and meditate with, caught on fire, and then exploded. Luck was on Zuko's side, because none of the melted wax splatter came his way. His uncle, on the other hand, wasn't as lucky. To protect himself Iroh had to use his teacup to block the incoming wax, losing all of his tea during the process.

"Hm," said Iroh, inspecting the cup critically, "I need more ginseng tea!" He waved the poor piece of porcelain in the air until one of the servants came forward and took it from him, decisively taking the tray as well. With that small problem now taken care of, he turned his attention onto his still raging nephew.

"Zuko, you are even angrier than normal. Why? Did the Avatar show up on one of those islands you searched?"

"What kind of question is _that_?"

"A sensible one."

"Don't you think I would have caught him if I had seen him?" continued Prince Zuko, ignoring his uncle's comment.

"No," said Iroh, as he gratefully sipped the fresh tea that had been brought forth. Zuko glowered, reminded of the supportive family he had been born into.

"Now tell me, what happened?"

"Nothing!"

"I'm becoming tired of this game, Zuko."

Prince Zuko's response was an angry sigh.

"_Now_, Zuko."

"I was looking for that damn Avatar when a band of Earthbenders attacked me. Okay? Happy now?"

"No." Another sip. "You never were good at lying."

Zuko fumed. After traveling for two year together in search for the Avatar, Iroh really did know him too well. "What do _you_ know, old man?"

"More than you give me credit for, so stop resorting to name calling like a five year-old, and tell me the _truth_."

"Would you believe me if I said that I fought with a female Earthbender who was stolen away in the middle of our battle, which I was winning, by the Avatar?"

"Nope."

"Well then, this conversation is over."

"That's the truth?" He was so surprised that he nearly spat out some of his precious tea. He looked at his nephew's expression, mulling the idea over. Finally he raised an eyebrow with a smile. "She must have been beating you pretty badly if the Avatar had to stop her from defeating you before he does."

"She was not beating me!"

"What did I just tell you about lying to me?"

"Hey! I was not lying-"

"Zuko, don't even try to make excuses. I understand. You fail to understand the basics…" said Zuko's uncle, and with an all knowingly evil smirk as he took another sip.

- - - - -

"She has to be useful somehow!" whined Sokka to Katara.

"I can cook, clean, and all that other stuff females always do! I can fight as well! So who are _you_ calling _useless?_" seethed Kahori, venom dripping off every word as she defended herself.

"Katara has all the girly stuff down and I," he pulled out his favorite boomerang, which originally belonged to his father, with a smirk, "can fight. Aang does all those weird magical things, which makes you useless."

Kahori gave him a chilling look. "You think that your sister can handle it all by herself? Look at her! She's run down. And if you're our warrior than we're all doomed."

"You think you can fight better?"

"Need I remind you that I can Bend and I'm a Kyoshi warrior?"

"Yeah, a warrior _in training_. This is the real world, not some training exercise." He sighed, as if admitting this hurt him as much as he was hoping it was hurting her. "You're too young to understand."

"You are no competition for me!"

As the two headstrong teens continued to bicker Aang walked over and collapsed next to Katara.

"How does he do it?" Aang wondered aloud.

"How does who do what?" asked Katara, in her soothing voice.

"How can Zuko keep finding us? We haven't traveled a clear path, so he can't know where we're going, but he still finds us! It's happened too much already for it to be coincidence. How is he getting our location?"

"I couldn't tell you. Only Zuko or someone whose traveling with him would know…"

Kahori, who had the innate female ability to listen to several conversations at once, threw her hand over Sokka mouth, instantly silencing him. She was _so_ not useless.

She sat down next to Aang and Katara, abandoning Sokka to rant at the sky. "That's a good thought, Katara! And I think I may be able to help. Since I'm of no use here," she sent a glare Sokka's way, "I could be a spy for you guys! The ship may not have much use for a girl, but I could disguise myself as a guy and go aboard as a soldier. Eventually I'll be able to figure out how he finds you guys, and we could use the knowledge to our advantage. What do you think?"

They just looked at the girl for a moment, wondering what had brought her on to the dangerous idea.

"Isn't it a bit risky? Maybe we should send one of the boys…" said Katara.

Kahori viciously shook her head. "No way! Prince Zuko is bound to recognize any of you! He's only seen me once, so if I change my look a bit he won't remember me. Plus, you all need to stay together and keep going to the North Pole. The faster Aang masters all the elements, the better."

"I see your point. Your plan might work… One question though, why are you doing this for us?" spoke up Sokka.

"Because," Kahori eyes momentarily when out of focus before she snapped back, "Fire Nation killed my mother." With that said she pulled out a dagger. Sokka watched in horror as she slowly brought it up to her neck. Aang and Katara just sat there, probably frozen solid with fear, so he was the one left to react.

He grabbed her legs, wrapping his arms around them. She looked down at him, one of her eyebrows cocked up.

"Don't do it!" he cried.

"You can't stop me. I need to do this for my mother." Kahori's voice was like ice.

"There are other ways!" he shut his eyes, not wanting to see her kill herself. "Please don't kill yourself…" Sokka whispered. He heard the sound of the knife swish, and something fell on his back. He sprung up.

"Ugh! There's blood on me!" He jumped around furiously wiping at his back.

"Blood?" He looked up to see Kahori, holding a long chunk of her hair, cut off for the rest of it. Suddenly feeling very stupid he glanced down to some of the hair she had cut off on Appa's saddle.

His pale face went back to it's normal color, before blushing vengefully.

"Did you think I was going to kill myself?" She said, with a small laugh. He turned away from her, preferring not to see the tease in everyone's eyes.

"No… I knew you were giving yourself a haircut!"

"Then why did you grab on to my legs, begging me not to do it? Hair does grow back." She smiled at him, cutting another segment off, trying to make it fairly short.

"Um… Well… Uh…" He response got laughs from his companions, and he couldn't help but to chuckle himself.

_(Author's Note: Tada! What do ya think?_

_Zuko: There should have been more of me!_

_Kahori: Stop being such a self-evolved jerk! You had nearly a page-worth!_

_Zuko: And you had the rest of the chapter! We need a Zuko chapter!_

_Sokka: No way, you Fire Nation scum!_

_Aang: Fawna already said you would become a bigger character…_

_Zuko: The Avatar! -runs at Aang-_

_Aang: Whoops! -flies away-_

_Zuko: Damn!_

_Um… Thank-you for those comments, guys. -cough, cough- Okay everybody, read and review!)_


	3. Dueling Made Fun, Defeat a Prince!

_(Author's Note: Thanks for all the reviews. I was chatting with a friendly little chica and she told me that posting weekly would be an annoyingly long time, so when summer break comes around I'll try to post more often. Okay. Reader responses or not?)_

_**Chapter Three**_

_**Dueling Made Fun, Defeat a Prince!**_

"Stop fretting so much. I'm going to be fine. If push comes to shove I can kick his butt. Now be quick and leave! Someone's going to see you!" hissed Kahori as she stepped off of Appa, running her fingers through her now boy-short hair. Aang and Katara were giving her worried looks as Sokka sat there, obnoxiously determined.

"Take a boomerang!"

"No way! Those things are useless!"

"Are not!"

"Are too! Now get lost! The guards will be heading this way soon!" It was the dead of night, even though they had found Zuko's ship in early afternoon. When no one had been looking their way they had lowered themselves next to the ship. Kahori, dressed in some of Sokka's clothes, was willing and ready. The others will still a bit less keen on the idea.

Without another word she walked away, leaving no room for argument. Reluctantly Appa and the others flew off, wishing their new friend luck. Of course, if they had told her that to her face, she would have merely responded that it wasn't necessary.

Kahori crept along the side of the ship, wondering what she was going to say when someone found her. Surely they wouldn't be stupid enough to think Fire Lord Ozai had sent only one new man who came on the ship with no one the wiser? But then, they _**were**_Fire Nation scum… As well as this ship was lead by the well known Prince Zuko who's trying to capture the Avatar, and picked a fight with her…

Okay, maybe _**he**_ was stupid enough to buy it.

It was just the rest of the ship she had to worry about.

No problem.

She took a few deep breaths before going around another corner, where a strong Fire Nation guard just happened to be. Both were stunned, and the guard got over it first. He grabbed her by the arm and began to pull her along. Instinct nearly made her knock the guard to the ground, but she quenched the urged. After all, how would if the new recruit fought with a guard? He was probably taking her to someone of higher rank than himself, and she would need to meet them to get sorted among the crew.

She followed along in silence, trying to figure out her story, but still made sure to size up her guard and surroundings, just in case.

The guard swung open a large metal door and threw her to the ground. "I found this boy creeping around, sir." Kahori stood up, rubbing her elbow, which had been smacked during her entrance. She gave a small jump as several lanterns lit up simultaneously, revealing none other than Prince Zuko getting out of bed.

A light blush crept over her cheeks when she realized he didn't have a shirt on. Yes, he was a cocky idiot, but at least he had the build to support his arrogance. Zuko gave her a piercing glare with his golden eyes, and any giggly girl feeling that had been surfacing vanished. He clearly did not want to be woken in the middle of the night due to an intruder. She couldn't help but to smirk a little as the flames of the candles flared. He was too easy to tick off.

To eliminate her blush she looked away, hoping that not looking at the handsome prince would not only make him out of sight, but also out of mind, and she nearly didn't see the fireball come at her. Luckily she caught a glimpse of it out of the corner of her eye.

"What's going on-" Iroh stopped himself, surprised to see a young boy spring from the ground and do a back flip, narrowly avoiding an attack. When back on his feet the boy dropped into a defense position. The guard, looking bewildered, lumbered forward and took the lad by the arm, only to get flipped over onto his back, completely winded. The boy, sure no one else was going to try something, decided to ignore the others, and straightened out his clothes.

Zuko, still drowsy, gave a yawn a stood up. Both of his hand catching fire as he did so.

"Who are you and what are you doing on my ship?"

Kahori met his eyes, looking casual, like she wasn't being threatened. "I was told that getting assigned to your ship was drawing the short straw, but I was willing to give you the benefit of the doubt. After all, you are the son of your father. Seems my faith was misplaced." Kahori was forced to lean to the side as another fireball came her way. "You should really be more careful when you play with fire, Princey. I was sent by your father as some additional crew."

She could almost physically feel it as he look her over, deciding what use she was. She hadn't planned to be in such close quarters with Zuko, and prayed that he wouldn't recognize her. Since her eyes were now fully green, she hoped it would be impossible for him to make the connection. Luckily, his heated glare turned on the guard. "You failed to mention this."

"He didn't asked," Kahori provided smoothly.

"I wasn't asking you." Zuko wasn't yelling, but his words were filled with tension. He must have developed that way of speaking as a way of intimidating his crew, but it wasn't going to work on her.

"There's no need to complain. I gave you the answer you sought," she replied dryly, repressing the smirk that played on her lips as the lantern flames flared again.

Wanting to avoid the impending rage that was building up in Zuko, Iroh decided to take over the interrogation. "He sent only you?"

Kahori's gaze slide over to the older man, and she managed to maintain her calm, casual act. Really, she was freaking out. She could slip up on any of his questions, and when Iroh starting taking aim alongside Zuko, it would be a lot harder to save herself from getting scorched. "You're lucky to even get me." The prince was exiled, so clearly his father didn't really like his boy, right? "Anyways, I'm all you need." Act confident. Like she was suppose to be here.

"How old are you?"

"Seventeen."

"A bit scrawny aren't you? Why would my brother send you?" Iroh wondered aloud.

"Because you can't judge a book by it's cover." She bit her tongue so she wouldn't add a bit more to her remark. The bit more being a lot less friendly than what she had allowed herself to say.

"Can you Bend?"

She considered his question for a moment. For her safety she decided that they would only expecting her to be able to Firebend, if that. Anything else could make them suspicious. "Um… No."

"Then what fighting skill could you possibly have?"

"I'm good with hand to hand combat…"

"Time to see how good your skills are then."

"How so?"

"You'll battle Zuko. Since you can't Bend, Zuko will be prohibited from doing so."

Kahori gulped. Is this really what they did to all new crew? "Zuko?" She couldn't help but to worry that Zuko would recognize her technique. Iroh read her worry as something else entire.

"Yes. Zuko's is closest to your age, to make it more fair. He's only nineteen. Is that a problem?"

"Uh, no." Oh, wow. _That_ sounded intelligent. This was not going as planned, and she hated having to stay in the good graces of Fire Nation. But for her mother… She had to play the part. "Why don't you let him Bend?" she asked, looking Zuko up and down, but really making the judgment based on what she remembered from their last duel. "I'll still be able to take him."

Iroh raised an eyebrow. "Zuko may not have his basics down, but he's still reasonably good."

"I know." Kahori nearly gave them a beaming smile, but caught herself. Instead she delivered a confident smirk. _'Boys don't smile, they smirk.' _She told herself, remembering a bit of the guy lessons Sokka had given her during the day.

"Well," said Zuko, stretching, "Firebending it is! Just don't cry when you get flamed."

"I'm not planning to."

She followed them as they led her back up to the deck of the ship. Already any guards who had night duty, or those who were woken by the noise the entire fiasco had made, were waiting. They had apparently expected a duel of some sort, whether it was an intruder or new recruit.

"You will duel here."

"Okay," was the only response Kahori could muster. Oh, jeez. Meek. She couldn't helped but to feel flustered as some of the others began to snicker. She mentally hit herself over the head. She needed to be confident!

Zuko saw the slight strain on the her face. He smiled to himself assuming wrongly that it was the fear of battling _him _that had her worried.Naturally, he wanted to add to it.

"So, _while you can still talk_, tell me what your name is."

She couldn't help but to roll her eyes. He was so annoyingly arrogant… In some ways he was already reminding her of Sokka…

"Kah- Um… Yeah. It's Kah." Another mental whack. She hadn't thought out a name. And now she could only come up with Kah. Some of the audience found the name amusing. One by one they started to make the cawing noise of a crow, since Kah and caw were pronounced the same way. Yes, she gave herself a very _**hard**_ mental whack. It was hard enough to make her press one of her palms against the side of her head.

At the sniggers of the men she pulled her hand away. They thought she was showing weakness, which she was. Mental whack. Maybe her mind would go numb with getting hit so many times…

"Are you both ready?" Iroh voice stopped her train of thought. Kahori nodded somewhat shakily and Zuko gave a proud smirk, which clearly meant than he was ready.

"Then don't let me stop you. Fight!"

Both stood there for a moment, waiting for the other to make a move. After what seemed like forever the Prince began to shoot a fury of fireballs. With a sigh she easily dodge them all. She looked around her while doing so, coming up with a strategy.

As soon as she saw the opportunity she made a run for the door. While doing so she felt a slight tingle on her arm, but ignored it. Everyone watching outright laughed at the sight. She couldn't help it, she smiled. Men so quickly jumped to conclusions. Zuko was in pursuit--that was to be expected. As Iroh had said, Prince Zuko had yet to master the basics.

She changed her direction somewhat, not heading for the door, but the wall beside it. She pivoted at the last moment, so nobody would be ready for it.

Her speed was high, just right. With practiced ease she ran up the side of the wall, getting at least ten feet up before she lost grip, and sprung off of it. She tucked her legs in, allowing herself to roll through the air. Just in time she straighten them out, landing lightly, directly behind the stunned prince.

With one swift movement she snapped out one of her palms into his spine. Kahori was careful not to apply too much force. Breaking his back would not be looked fondly upon. Even with the restraint her power was enough to make his entire body go rigid before he fell to the ground.

Satisfied, she shook her head, getting her bangs out of her eyes. She couldn't help but to give a quirky smile. It was at that moment that she chose to look down at her arm, seeing the smoldering remains of her right sleeve. She brushed off the ashes, revealing some very tender skin.

"Even if you _are_ tired, it shouldn't be that easy to defeat the Prince of the Fire Nation, don't you agree, Zuko?" she remarked lightly. His only response to the insult was a groan.

Eyes wide, Iroh stepped forward. "You are talented indeed. Have you traveled much?"

"Yes. For several years." It was true. After her father's break down she had run away from Kyoshi island, thinking no one would want her around. It took her four years to work up the courage to return home. In that time she had traveled all over, picking up random wisdom. Most of that wisdom had to do with fighting. "How did you know?"

"First off, your clothes. I'm surprised my brother didn't give you something better than those rags to wear. They almost seem like the clothes of a Water tribesman. As well as you couldn't have picked up such a range of skills from just our nation… It's official. You are exactly what I've been waiting for. You can be Prince Zuko's personally bodyguard and help me train him!" Iroh gave a pleased smile.

Zuko, who had finally gotten himself off of the ground, was frowning deeply. "You do realize what a joke I'll look like? A scrawny little kid as my bodyguard? I know that it's a bit dangerous for me to go hunting for the Avatar by myself, but _him_?"

Before Iroh could blink 'Kah' had crouched to the ground, sticking out her foot as she did so. As if it was the easiest thing ever done, she hooked her foot behind Zuko's, and snapped it towards her body, causing Zuko to fall back to the ground. "You need to learn to respect your elders, Princey."

Zuko's reply was an ugly scowl. Iroh raised his eyebrow, trying to stay serious, but couldn't help but to chuckle. "Yes, you will do just fine. Now, maybe I'll get to duel you soon…"

"Are you ready to lose?"

Iroh chuckled again. "Not at this time of night. Why don't we get you to a room? Surely your tired after traveling and dueling?"

Kah nodded, relieved that they had bought her story. So she would get to live, if only for another day. At this point, that was good enough for her.

Iroh lead her to a room, which was had a door connecting it to Zuko's. Iroh noticed how Kahori eyed the door suspiciously.

"If Zuko is ever attacked or what not, you'll be access him easily. Would you like some tea to help you fall asleep?"

She shook her head. "No thanks. I'm fine."

"Suit yourself. It is very good tea." Seeing that his comment had not swayed her decision, he continued. "There are some clothes and a herbal ointment to take care of your burn in the corner. Make sure to try some tea soon. We just recently got a new supply… Mmm…"

"I'll make sure to do that." Kahori said with a smile. She watched Iroh as he left, only going to inspect the clothes after he had shut the door. As she had thought, they were much too big for her. With a sigh she began to change.

"I think a rematch-" Zuko started as he burst through the door. He stopped, not just because of the teen in front of him was shirtless, but also because of the bands of cloth that was wrapped around her chest.

"Kah, are you injured?"

"Um…" was the only response Kahori could come up with as the looked down at herself, blushing furiously.

"What happened? It looks like you have some bumps from the wounds. You should have our medicine men check it out. If you expect to be my '_bodyguard_' with injuries, think again."

Kahori felt her face go red hot, and being so flustered she lost her cool. "Injuries or no, I can still fight! The way your face ended up smack on the deck should be proof enough of that. Plus, they're minor, no reason to have a bunch of men prodding them." The very idea made her shiver. Prince Zuko, in all his wisdom, misread it.

"Don't like medicine men, huh?" he laughed, enjoying her supposed weakness. With that comment he sat down on her bed, leaning back, clearly relaxed. "You better not start becoming weak already. If you want to guard me you'll have to be ready to go to all sorts of areas that are no place for a kid."

Kahori gave him a light punch on the arm, while quickly pulling on her pajamas. "Don't refer to me as a kid. I'm only two years younger than you!" Apparently not only could she tick off Zuko easily, but he knew what some of her buttons were, and was only too pleased to push them. The very concept pissed her off. Zuko was too dense to feel the agitation that was radiating off of her in waves.

"You hit like a girl." Another laugh. Of course, after a hard day's travel Kahori was not in the mood. Her eyebrow gave a strong twitch, which Sokka now knew was a dangerous sign. But then, Zuko didn't have such knowledge.

"What is wrong with hitting like a girl? They hit far harder than _you_!"

Zuko frowned deeply, and the flames in her candles leapt about five feet in the air. Kahori would have never expected such a strong reaction to a simple insult. Meditating must really not be working.

With a snort Zuko left to go to his own room, slamming the door behind him, and leaving Kahori to herself. Quickly she rubbed the ointment onto her arm, cringing at the stingy sensation it brought. After the initial sting a majority of the pain went away, with the throbbing.

She sighed, putting out all the flames of her lanterns before collapsing onto her bed, too tired to think out any of the other kinks in her plan.

- - - - -

"Okay, so she's better than I gave her credit for."

"_She ran up a wall_! The only person that we know we who can do that is Aang, and he can Airbend! She is levels beyond what any of us could ever have thought!" pointed out Katara to Sokka. They had been so worried about Kahori that they decided they could start back up for the North Pole the next day, watching the activity on the ship from above. In the end they had seen her fight with Zuko.

"She did it like it was a game! It's like she knew the top thousand ways to beat Zuko! I should have to master all she knows as well, and not just the elements. Forget the elements! Kahori should be some famous sensei, not just some forgotten teen!" chirped in Aang, bouncing around with energy. Seeing the action had excited him, and now he felt ready to battle a hundred Zukos.

"Definitely," agreed Katara. Sokka's only response was an ugly snort as he raged with himself in his head. Despite her skill, she was still no Suki.


	4. An Early Visit

_(Author's Note: -pouts- The bodyguard thing isn't too weird. Plus it's necessary for what I'm planning to do with the rest of the story... Sorta. Oh, and a special note to my friend Thalia, WTF? Sokka and Kahori? They're on the verge of killing each other, you twit! -rolls eyes-)_

_**Chapter Four**_

_**An Early Visit**_

"Good morning, sir."

"Oh, it's you." said Zuko, giving Kahori a bored look through drooping eyelids.

"Yeah, thanks for noticing. Now get up. You need to eat before training, which will begin in a hour."

"Then it's a good thing that I don't take forever to get dress, huh?"

"Will you stop going on about it?" she asked icily, giving him a glare that would have been deadly if it weren't for the fact she was also smiling. For the last several days Zuko had been teasing her because she spent more time getting ready than any of the other men.

"I'm beginning to think you might be a girl!" said Zuko with an evil laugh. His comment was clearly meant as an insult. _Zuko, you don't even know the half of it._

"I have to wrap up my wounds every morning! I would be quicker if I hadn't let you have the lucky shot during our fight…"

Zuko rolled his eyes. "You're lucky that I was so out of it, or you would be dead right now. Move, will you? You're blocking my way." Frowning, she moved to the side so he had enough room to get out of bed. Recently she had found out that not only was she to be his bodyguard, but a bit of a nanny as well. Waking up Prince Zuko every day was a good way to practice not getting flustered at the sight of a shirtless man. There was enough of them walking around from training. This morning it had only taken her about ten minutes until she was sure she could look at him without blushing--a new record.

"Whatever you say, Princey."

"Will you _stop _calling me that?"

"No."

"Damn you."

She smiled. "You're definitely a morning person." He responded with a snort. Recently he had been doing that more and more around her…

While he got dressed she allowed her mind to wander. It had been four days since she had first come aboard the ship, and it had thus far proved to be a less than an absolutely thrilling experience. She figured that she would see Aang, Katara, and Sokka within the next three days due to their agreement: every week they would come during the night to pick up the information she had gathered, and check up on her. Not that checking on her was at all necessary. She was _owning _this mission.

Zuko spoke, stirring her from her thoughts. "How are your chest wounds doing?" Sometimes, if she ignored his tone, she could actually make herself believe that he might care about her well being a little bit. A very little bit.

As a reflex she crossed her arms over her chest. "They're… um… healing just fine, thanks."

"Good. I think Uncle's planning to have you help with my training today. I really don't see how _you_ can help me though…"

"Do I need to throw you down again? I think I can handle the pain it causes me to hurt you enough for a refresher."

"Yeah, yeah. You've got _some_ talent. I just can't see you actually teaching though. I don't think you have very much patience," he pointed out with a laugh.

"Look whose talking."

He frowned at her, and the candles were on the verge of lighting. Suddenly it stopped, and the prince shook his head with a smile on his face. Perhaps less of a smile, more of a smirk. He seemed determined to prove that he could control his temper. Kahori could only guess that his ability to piss her off was as pleasing for him as it was for her vice versa.

"Come on. Let's go." The now fully dressed Zuko was already out the door. With a sigh, she followed. She could still get lost on Zuko's ship, even if it wasn't very big. She was horrible with directions when she wasn't outside, and she hated it. It made her feel so much like a _boy_.

They soon reached the large double doors that opened up to the cafeteria. There were plenty of tables scattered around, but she was required to sit at the head table. She was apparently very important, because she had to sit in the seat on Zuko's left. Iroh was always in the seat on Zuko's right. She didn't mind, it was a constant, and reassuring in an odd way. Plus it wasn't difficult to talk to Iroh around Zuko, which not only bother the prince, but allowed Kahori a rare bit of intelligent conversation… As long as Iroh wasn't in one of his tea moods.

A servant brought out a tray of food, and Kahori thanked him before happily digging into her omelet. She couldn't help but to overhear some soldiers nearby talking.

"Why do the cooks and servants all have to be men? I much prefer a meal cooked by a women, even if it tastes bad. It gives you a homey feeling." The man sighed. The guy who was sitting next to him smiled. Kahori couldn't help but to smile as well. _Now there's some well deserved respect for women._

"Yeah. I know what you mean. Hell, I would care if a women gave me _shit_, as long as I got some fun out of it, _if you know what I mean_." Kahori's jaw dropped. What had happened to all that promise the two men had shown? Where was the respect? But then, the kind of soldiers that King Ozai had sent to his Zuko were a big part of what convinced Kahori that daddy wasn't too happy with his little boy. Even though some of them were good fighters, most needed some serious intervention with their personalities.

Kahori picked out a large nut from the bowl in front of her, giving it a small squeeze to make sure it was hard enough. Satisfied, she threw it at the second man's head with all the strength she could muster. The deafening '_crack'_ that echoed around the cafeteria on contact brought a smile to her face, but she quickly banished the pleasant expression. Remembering the comment allowed her gaze to go cold.

"Surely," she said to the man as he turned around to glare at her, "you're not trying to imply that we should get rid of the cooks we currently have, who work long and hard hours everyday to make such splendid meals for you, so you can have 'fun' with a woman. Such an idea to me seems horribly disgraceful."

She stood up and walked over to him, bending over to get right in his face. "Don't you agree?" The words came out in a menacing hiss.

Before the man could give his reply the doors of the cafeteria were flung open, revealing a panting officer.

"Sir, we're under attack!"

Prince Zuko stood, raising his eyebrows at the man. "By whom?"

Even though the man was clearly out of breath he was still able to make his words sound disgusted and urgent. "The Avatar."

"Aang?" Kahori couldn't help but to whisper under her breath.

Before she could give it anymore thought Zuko was making his way out of the door, dragging her along with him. Normally she would demanded he unhand her, but she had too many thought rushing through her head to actually care.

_Why are they here? Why are they _attacking_? Don't they realize that I may have to fight them? I bet Sokka's to blame…_

On deck the sight before her was enough to make her stop dead in her tracks. There was about forty men manning large catapults, which were firing flaming rocks at Appa. The horrid smell of sulfur hit her hard. She nearly fell backwards due to the stench. She probably would have fallen if it hadn't been for Zuko holding her.

For several moments she just stood there, watching the movements of Appa. She released a small gasp, somewhat surprised by what she saw. It was almost just as shocking that no one else on the ship had noticed.

"There's nobody on Appa…" she whispered to herself.

She felt Zuko's grip tighten on her wrists and he brought her close to him. She gave a shuddering breath as his golden eyes bored into hers, the intensity they held equivalent to a powerful blow to the gut. "What did you just say?"

"Look at the bison! Nobody's riding it!" Even as she said it her eyes flickered over to Appa, confirming that her eyes weren't playing tricks on her.

He whirled around, knocking her to the ground in the process. She looked up to see him squinting at Appa. "Damn! You're right!"

"You're surprised?"

Zuko ignored her comment. "That means they either landed somewhere and that giant flying beaver-"

"Bison. And there are no islands nearby. Either he's flown a very long way…"

"Or the Avatar is here on the ship. Do you have any idea where he might be?"

Kahori got up into a sitting position. "Why are you asking me?" Had correcting him on the whole bison/beaver thing given her away?

"Because you're observant and crap!" He grabbed her by the collar of the shirt and hoisted her up, not giving her the comfort of being able to have her feet touch the ground. She wasn't very heavy, but she was still a little shocked that he could hold her up so easily.

"Behind you?" He let go of her, and she fell to the ground, _again_. "Damn, I'm getting tired of this!" she muttered under her breath.

"What do you mean 'behind you'? He's not there! Why did you lie to me?" yelled the enraged Zuko in her face.

She shrugged. "It seemed like the most probable place."

Zuko growled, and straightened up. He took a deep breath, and she thought he was trying to calm himself down. She couldn't help but to let out a small scream as he breathed out fire through his mouth at her head. In a sad attempt to protect herself she threw herself flat down to the ground.

She looked up to see Aang twirling his staff to block the attack. Kahori couldn't help but feel relived that Zuko hadn't been attacking her. "Or, y'know, behind me. One of the two," she mumbled to herself, debating what she should do.

"Kah, get out of the way. NOW!" commanded Zuko, his eyes never leaving the Avatar.

Obediently she rolled over to the side. Kahori looked up at Aang and gulped. She sprung up into a fighting stance, ready to fight her friend, even though her mind was screaming against it.

"You're not going to fight, Kah."

Her stance dropped along with her jaw. She spun to face him. "_What_?" She quickly gained her composure back. "But, sir, I'm you bodyguard…"

"The Avatar is _mine_," he said through clenched teeth. "Go find his friends!"

"Uh… Yes, sir!" Kahori said, and began to run in the direction she figured Aang had come from. Sure enough she ran straight into Sokka. The sight of him made her take a deep breath.

"What in the world were you _thinking_? Why are you _here_? I'm not supposed to see you for another _three days_, at which point you were _not_ supposed to be _fired upon_!"

"What makes you think it's _my_ fault?"

"Because you're the village idiot!

"That's beside the point!"

At least he hadn't denied being the village idiot. "Is not!"

"Is so!"

Kahori was about to continue on with the verbal feud when she got a sharp elbow in the side. She looked to see Katara was standing next to her.

"Sokka," she looked pointedly at him, "has something to say to you." Sokka looked down at the floor and scoffed his shoe against it.

"You're a better fighter than I gave you credit for…" he grumbled.

A smile crept onto Kahori's face. "What did you say?"

"I know you heard me, and I refuse to repeat it!"

She laughed. "You are so like Princey, you don't even know!"

"Princey…? Oh, wait! Hold up! You can't honesty be comparing _me_ to that Fire Nation scum that's their prince?"

"The one and only!"

"Why I-"

"Sokka, we need to get the questions asked. Aang will only be able to distract them for so long…" Katara's voice was a bit icy, and icy Katara caught Kahori's interest. What were these all important questions?

"Oh, right… Blame _her_!" Sokka pointed an accusing finger at Kahori, who was just getting over her laughing fit. His behavior brought back the funny. It felt like she hadn't laughed in ages. She was quick to stop herself though, when she noticed Katara's urgent look.

"Which room is yours?" Katara asked politely.

"Do you actually expect me to show you? We'll get caught for sure!" Kahori asked, and couldn't help but look around, expecting guards to swarm them around them at any minute.

Sokka rolled his eyes. "Where is your room from the viewpoint of a flying bison?"

"What? Oh." She led them over to the side of the ship and pointed to the porthole that was fifth from the front of the ship. They nodded.

"Aang should be coming this way soon," mentioned Katara.

"Which means Zuko will be coming too. Okay… Katara? You're going to have to freeze my legs. Quite a bit of them. And, Sokka, you're going to have to hobble."

"What?" the siblings said in unison.

"Do you think that Prince Zuko will be pleased to see his bodyguard 'conversing with the enemy' when he sent Kah to capture them? I think not. We'll have to make to look like we've been fighting. If my legs were frozen it would explain why I don't have you two on the ground, begging for mercy. Sokka, you're gonna have to hobble like your foot is hurt."

"What? Why?"

"Because it's more believable that way!"

Sokka smirked. "I'm not going to hobble anytime soon!"

"Oh, yes, you are!"

"Oh, really? And what's gonna make me?"

Kahori gave him a hard kick in the shin. "That. Now, _hobble_! Katara, could you please freeze my legs from behind?"

Katara nodded and stood behind Kahori. She was a bit clumsy, but she soon got the job done. Kahori's teeth chattered as she looked down at the ice that now covered her up to her waist in the front, and easily chilled her neck from behind.

"Great job," said Kahori with a shiver. "Now get ready to run."

At that moment they heard Zuko's angry yell coming their way. Appa swooped in, hovering right next to the side of the ship, ready for a quick departure. After inspecting to make sure her flying friend hadn't sustained any injuries, Kahori began her 'struggle' against the ice that was binding her. Sokka and Katara were just getting on Appa when Aang came flying, literally, around the corner. He landed quickly in the saddle and helped Sokka get on, who was having trouble with his now throbbing leg. Just as Zuko reached the railing they flew off.

"Damn it!" Both Kahori and Zuko said together.

Only then did he realize that she was there. "Why the hell didn't you catch them?" he yelled, infuriated with her.

"I tried! I was just about to grab the guy when that Waterbending chick froze me from behind!"

Zuko looked her up and down, as if he hadn't seen the frozen water that ensnarled her body before. He gave a deep sigh before he lit up his hands, starting to melt the ice.

"I can't believe the Avatar got away _again_." He had already melted the ice on her right arm, and had now moved on to her waist. With nothing better to do she used the freed limb to give him a wet, yet comforting pat on the shoulder. He turned his head to glare at the hand. To her shock he took a deep breath, and she pulled her hand out of the way just in time. Fire streamed over his shoulder where her hand had just been.

"I don't need reassuring gestures from a runt like you!"

She was about to snap back a stingy retort when her eyes went wide. "Ow!" Her hand flew down and smacked away the hand Zuko had been using to melt the ice, cringing.

"Why did you do that?" he demanded.

She glared at him, holding her side defensively. When she realize it hadn't been intentional she removed her hand, and a few layers of skin, revealing a bad burn.

Zuko's gaped at the wound. "I-I didn't mean to do that!" he stammered out, as if she hadn't already figured it out. He stared at her damaged side, clearly unsure of what to do. Suddenly his head snapped up, his eyes meeting hers. Did she seem a glimpse of shame? Perhaps even worry?

"I'll go get Uncle for you, Kah!" With that Zuko ran off, muttering a string of rude words as he did so.

Kahori watched him go, shaking her head. "I don't know how this idiot's done it, but in less than a week he's hurt me more than anyone else in the whole bloody world…" she remarked to herself. She couldn't resist a smile as she remembered the look of panic on his face, but a stab a pain quickly distorted her expression. She inspected her wound, hissing at the agony it was causing her. "Physically, at least."


	5. The Deciding Battle of the Day!

_**Chapter Five**_

_**The Deciding Battle (of the Day)!**_

Kahori got out of bed with a sharp intake of breath. _Ow. _She slowly stretched, trying to figure out which positions hurt the most. Just about every one was painful, but she would have to deal with it. She was _hungry_. Memories of what had happened yesterday flooded back to her. She hoped that Iroh wouldn't be too mad at her for acting so weird…

"_Let them inspect the wounds!" Zuko yelled at her._

"_They're just fine! The one to be concerned about is the one you gave me. The others are of no concern to these men!"_

"_Kah," said Iroh wisely, "why won't you let them look?"_

"_Because it would just be a waste of time," she snapped. Kahori bit her tongue; she hated using harsh words with Iroh, but he was being so __**nosey**__…_

"_How do you know? Are you a medicine man as well as a warrior?" He said as he took a sip of his tea. "Those wounds might have infections."_

_She knew he was just trying to take care of her, but she really didn't need it. She inhaled deeply, calming herself. "They were inspected before I arrived. There's nothing wrong, so will you just leave it alone?"_

It seemed like nobody on the entire ship would get over the 'chest wound' issue. She grunted angrily, something she had picked up from Zuko, and was just about to open her door when it swung open--right into her.

"Heavens! What did I do to enraged the gods so much they feel it is necessary to harm me daily?" she muttered, looking up. Surprise, surprise. The person who had given her the new injury was none other than Prince Zuko.

"Or maybe it's not the gods I've angered, but the devil. After all, it's he's minion that's doing all the damage…" Kahori drawled.

"Don't overestimate yourself. Gods or devil, they don't have time to waste on you, and if they really wanted me to help, your injuries wouldn't be so minor." He smirked.

_Oh yeah, like any higher power would waste their time using _you _as a vessel._ She held back the comment, deciding a roll of the eyes would suffice.

"Don't give me that," he growled. He grabbed her by the hair, tilting her head back slowly so that she was looking into his eyes. His pupils were pinpricks, making him look more terrifying than normal. "I've just been holding back, because hitting you feels so much like hitting a girl…"

"Funny, I feel the same way." She placed her hand on top of his, and dug her nails into the web of his fingers until he pulled away with a grunt. "Especially when I knocked you to the ground, and you screamed-"

"I did not scream!"

"So high pitched, and girly. I felt downright _awful_."

He glared, and she prepared herself, just in case he got violent. And, like clockwork, his arm came swinging around, but instead of hitting her, his fist pounded into the doorframe.

"You better be ready, 'cause today you're '_helping'_ with my training."

Kahori paused, making sure she had heard him right. "In my condition?" she managed.

"Yes, _in your condition,_" he said with a smile that was anything but friendly. "Can't let you get lazy, now can we? Clearly, you need to work on your defense."

"Clearly, I need to remember your love of _cheap shots_," Kahori seethed. "And I am not lazy. I am recovering from multiple injuries, and therefore not at my fighting best!"

"Exactly! Hopefully I'll be able to convince Uncle to let us have another fight…"

"What? Are you so pitiful that you're going to beg to have a fight with me when I'm struggling to move?"

"If I defeat you, I can probably get a new bodyguard."

"I'm injured! That's cheating!"

"I. Don't. Care. A true bodyguard can defend his master while injured, and barely gets injured at all, because it lessens his capabilities. You are not _fit_ to defend me. Plus, you're so _bothersome_. If it wasn't for the fact that my father had sent you, I would have thrown you overboard days ago."

"That one almost hurt," she replied. Actually, it had stung a lot. She thought that they had more or less been getting along. Now she knew it was only because of his father. That's probably why he had freaked out so much when he had burnt her yesterday. "Sorry to disappoint, but I'm sure even like this I can beat you."

"Then hurry up already. You take so much time getting ready. Like a g-"

"Yeah, yeah, like I haven't heard that one before…" she snarled, pushing past him. It's not like Iroh would strip her of her bodyguard status because of a completely rigged fight… Would he?

- - - - -

"Of course I'm glad to see you! Just… How did you find us?" questioned Sokka.

"Didn't you know?" asked Suki, with a small laugh, enjoying seeing him so worked up.

"Know what- Whoa, whoa, whoa, _**stop**_. Does this have anything to do with what Aang and Katara were teasing me with?"

"They teased you?" Suki couldn't help but laugh again.

"Yep!" said Aang, as he jumped out of a tree. He twirled his staff above his head lightly, allowing himself to carefully come down. When both feet were on the ground, Aang took the bag off his back and opened it, revealing a load of mangos.

"Food…" muttered Sokka, momentarily forgetting about Suki. She did not appreciate this.

Katara walked out of the woods with her sticks for the fire to find Suki bashing Sokka over the head with her fan. Sokka was crouched down, hands over his head to prevent even _more_ brain damage.

"Having fun?" asked Katara with a giggle.

"How -(whack)- dare -(whack)- you -(whack)- think -(whack)- that -(whack)- food -(whack)- is -(whack)- more -(whack)- important -(whack)- than -(whack)- _**me**_! -(SLAP!)- Oh, hello, Katara!" said Suki, putting her fan away as she did so. She walked over and helped Katara with her armful of firewood. Sensing the danger had passed, for now, Sokka dared to look up, whimpering.

"Toughen up. I thought men were _brave warriors_," said Suki mockingly as she walked by.

He cringed, remembering how many times his butt had hit the floor due to that comment. He quickly got over the memories, remembering there were things still left to be explained. "Now, since I apparently can't eat without being viciously attacked," he glared at Suki, "would someone please tell me how Suki found us?" asked Sokka in a pleading tone.

"Aang bragged to just about the entire town about how he was the Avatar, going to the North Pole to master Waterbending, so I knew where you were headed. I just had to follow Prince Zuko's trail of destruction." said Suki as she passed Sokka a mango. And just like that, all the other very important things to talk about vanished from his mind in a puff of smoke.

- - - - -

Kahori stood across from Zuko, trying to breath normally, but was having a hard time of it. She still couldn't believe her job as a bodyguard was riding on this battle. Plus, Iroh said it would have the same rules as before. In other words: Zuko could Firebend.

Really, all she was waiting on was the greatly dreaded word… "Begin!" shouted Iroh.

Zuko didn't even give her time to think. As soon as Iroh gave the signal he was running at her. Kahori tried to move, but pain momentarily stiffened her. That was all Zuko needed.

Without hesitating he hooked his foot around hers, pulling it toward his body. He was mimicking the move she had used on him after their first battle! Though it wasn't perfect, she still fell, the word 'copycat' coming to mind as she did so.

She knew that she wasn't in a safe position, and quickly rolled to the side. She saw fire hit the spot where she had just been lying, out of the corner of her eye. She jumped up, crouching into a defense position, trying to find a way to beat the prince.

The adrenaline that was pumping in her body made her numb to pain, but the odds were still strongly in Zuko's favor. Without her fan half of her attacks would be impossible. With her physical injuries she was incapable of pulling off stunts, like running up walls. Mentally she cursed all the bandages she was wrapped in, restraining her movements.

Zuko threw a fiery punch, and instinct took over. She grabbed his arm, thrusting it to the side. When she felt a pressure against her body she knew it was Zuko. Using his momentum, she leaned forward while still tugging on his arm, pulling him over her. Normally this would make someone flip over her back and land in a very painful position. Sadly, the arm she was pulling him with just happened to be the one that was hurt, and chose this particular moment to freeze.

Zuko's heavy body was now fully on top of her back, and had lost all momentum. A wave crashed into the side of the boat, trying to get the motion back, but it was too late. Zuko's weight was too much, and her knees buckled. She collapsed, Zuko landing on her.

"Fudge," was all she could say. She was in a helpless position. What more, she couldn't breathe. That problem quickly took priority over her pride. "Get… off…" she rasped out, hoping it wasn't a waste of the precious little air she had left in her lungs.

Obediently, Zuko put his arm on either side of her head, moving into a push-up stance. Kahori took a deep breath, finding air to be more pleasant than she remembered. She only had that one moment of joy before it was shattered by Zuko, who lowered himself over her, leaving not even a centimeter between their bodies. "You realize that I win, right?" he hissed in her ear.

"In amazingly unfair conditions!" Kahori pointed out bitterly. She wanted to crawl out from under him, but was too weak. The effort it had taken to fight had wasted her. She was actually shocked that she hadn't fallen earlier.

"Aren't you gonna move?" snapped Zuko.

"Can't," she admitted, feeling her face heat up with shame.

Zuko shifted his weight so he could use a hand to flip her over. "So light…" he remarked in a whisper. If they hadn't been so close, Kahori would not have heard him at all.

"This is a very uncomfortable position!" he growled, giving her a headache. They were inches away. Was it really necessary to be so _loud_? She was prepared to shoot back a response, but her voice caught. His eyes were _**very**_ gold. They sparkled with such intense determination that her train of thought was lost. "You really want to catch the Avatar, don't you?" she said instead of whatever she had originally planned.

Zuko's tilted his head back, as if she had transformed into something that he didn't know, but still intrigued him. When he got over the randomness of her question he leaned back in, offering a grim nod as his answer.

She studied his face, since apparently he wasn't going to bother to move. Her gaze was drawn to his scar. It looked so _painful_. How long had he had it? How had he gotten it? Fire Nation had always been very proficient with healing burns, so why hadn't his been taken care of?

She bit her lip, knowing Zuko would hate her if he thought she was pitying him. Her hand, as if it had a mind of it's own, reached up, resting lightly on the burn, her fingers caressing it softly.

Zuko jumped back as if he had been shocked, staring at her. _Whoops._

"What do you think you're _doing_?" he yelled, running his hand over the burn as if he thought she had done something horrible to it.

"S-Sorry," she stammered. She struggled to prop herself on her elbows, trying to think up an excuse. "But I had to do _something_ to make you move. I mean, you just wouldn't get off of me. I didn't realized you had a thing for me…" she drawled, as casual as could be.

"_What?_ I do _**not**_-"

Iroh, feeling like another fight would soon break out if something didn't happen, decided to interject. "It would appear Zuko is the winner…"

"Was there any doubt?" asked Zuko smugly, talk of his victory making him forget the argument. He crossed his arms over his chest, smirking down at Kahori. She knew he was just waiting until Iroh was out of ear shot so he could call her a loser. He was _much_ too proud of his wronged win.

"_**But**_ we still don't have anyone on the ship who surpasses Kah's skills, so he will still help with your training, and will stay your bodyguard until we get someone else."

Prince Zuko's jaw dropped, and Kahori couldn't help but to smile. "But… He lost! You said he wouldn't be my bodyguard if I could find someone to beat him!" He pointed down at her. "He's beaten!"

"Yes, but so far, you're the only one. And the odds were in your favor because he had bandages holding him back. I will write your father and ask if he can send someone who is stronger than Kah," Zuko gave his uncle a heated glare, "and looks tough," Iroh added with a sigh.

Prince Zuko grunted. "Fine!" With that he stomped off to his room.

Iroh went over to where he had been sitting and took a sip of his tea. Over his cup he saw poor Kahori was struggling to get up. A little upset to have to abandon the tea so soon, Iroh walked over to assist.

"I'm sorry you had to fight like that. I wanted to see how strong you were when hurt, and Zuko would only battle you if he thought he wouldn't have to have you as a bodyguard anymore…"

Kahori gave a weak nod. She took his outstretched hand, allowing him to help pull her up. "So, I wasn't going to lose my job?" she asked once standing on her own two feet.

Iroh laughed. "You're too good at it. I know of no one else who can handle Zuki like you do. I think my letter to the Fire Lord might get lost at sea. You never know, I might forget to write it. I'm becoming older… Little things like new bodyguards slip my mind…"

Kahori laughed as well. "Well, the next time you want to do something like this, please give me a warning."

Iroh nodded, then looked her over critically. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, Zuko doesn't have the power to do me any serious damage." She bowed to Iroh before walking back to her room. Kahori was just about to go in when she noticed that Zuko's door was ajar. With a smile, she slipped in, taking it as an invitation.

- - - - -

"Where are we going?" asked Suki. She was sitting on the saddle next to Sokka.

"To meet with our spy…" replied Aang, looking back and forth shiftily. He was able to keep this up for about thirty seconds before he started to laugh at himself.

"Spy?" The idea sparked Suki's curiosity.

"Yeah," said Sokka, "there's a girl who volunteered to spy on Zuko for us. She's trying to find out how he keeps finding us."

"She's beaten Sokka as many times as you have," said Katara, joining in on the conversation.

Sokka blushed, and frowned deeply at his sister. "Must we go in to my battle record? Anyways, I have some questions to ask," he said, turning to look at Suki. "Do you know a girl name Kahori?"

Suki nodded her head slowly, not sure what was going on. "Yeah, she's like my sister. She was always an interesting girl who could fight hard… Why, did you guys meet her? I haven't seen her for several months…" Suki's gaze dropped, and she frowned at the saddle. "She spends a lot of time on that island…" mumbled Suki, more to herself than to anyone else.

"She's our spy," stated Sokka, cutting off her train of thought. "And what makes her so special anyways?" No one missed the bitterness in his tone.

"Well, she's as emotionally strong as she is physically. Her mom lived in a different area. She never said where. It was a bit of a distance, because when she went to visit she would be gone for a month at least. One time when she came back, she must have been five, she said that her mother's village had been burned to the ground. She hadn't seen any sign that someone might have survived it. Then, her father went insane… After that she ran away, but came back four years later. My family took her in. Despite it all she was one of the most positive people one could ever meet. I'm not surprised that she never really told you. She has a hard time trusting people, and she hates to receive pity." Suki shook her head. "So, she's your spy? It will be great to see her again!"

She glanced down at Sokka, who was lying about lazily. "Sokka, get up," commanded Suki as she stood, trying to drag Sokka up with her.

"What? Why?" he groaned as she successfully lifted him up.

"Because you have gotten me all excited about getting to see Kahori. I need to burn up this energy before I even _try_ to fall asleep."

"Why do _**I**_ have to fight you?"

"You're the one who got me pumped up. C'mon!" She dropped into a graceful stance as Sokka sloppily pulled out his boomerang.

"This is gonna hurt, isn't it?" he asked, trying hard to suppress a yawn and concentrate.

"Only if I do it right!" said Suki as she ran at him.

_(Author's Note: For all of you that don't know, I started this story 3 years ago, and a few months ago I felt the need to restart it. I'm currently revamping all my old chapters (I had six) because 3 years ago I epic failed at writing. Now, I like to think I've improved…_

_Zuko: What were you thinking?_

_That wisdom comes with age, along with writing skills…?_

_Zuko: No, not that! I don't care about that! Why is the entire chapter not about me?_

_Kahori: Because it would go to your head. Plus, Suki's back!_

_Suki: Yes, because a story isn't as fun if there is only one kick-ass girl._

_Exactly. Hope y'all enjoyed! I should finish editing the sixth chapter in a few days. Read and review, please!)_


	6. Impersonal Questions

_(Author's Note: I feel that some reader responses are necessary, in honor of 'The New Guy' revamping. XD_

_Kinetic Kat: It's alright. I love stalkers. Especially the very first reader who responded kind of stalker. -hugs- Muchas gracias! I'm glad you can visualize it, since that's what I'm aiming for. And as for Zuko/Kahori scenes… Read on…_

_XXWrennaXx: Don't worry, Kahori's not stronger than Iroh. Sorry I gave that impression. -.-; For Kahori, improvement is going to be less about physical strength, and more about learning to trust and love again. Tell me if anything else feels off, and I'll do my best to make it better! Thanks so much! _

_And now, we rejoin our heroes…)_

**_Chapter Six_**

**_Impersonal Questions_**

Kahori looked at Zuko, who was lying on his bed, arms crossed over his chest like a fitful child. She couldn't hold back the small giggle that rose in her throat. Zuko went ridged at the sound, and he rolled over to look at her.

"_What are __you_ doing in here?"

"Your door was open so I decided to pop in."

Zuko gave a growl. "Leave."

This time Kahori outright laughed. "An invitation, once given, cannot be removed," said Kahori, nodding to her 'invitation,' the open door. "That's just plain rude." To make sure he understood her point she sat at the end of his bed.

"As long as you don't do _that_ anymore."

"What?"

"That giggle thing. It's so… _Girly_…" He spat out the last words with obvious disgust.

"I'll refrain. What do you have against girls anyway?"

"Whose says I have anything against girls?"

"You."

Silence.

"That's not an answer."

Silence.

Kahori prodded the prince in the leg with as much malice as she could muster, earning herself a swift kick in the arm, _ow_, and a glare.

"They're weak," he finally conceded. While, at least she got an answer, kinda.

"What else?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I know that you have more than just one reason. Most of your men are pretty weak, but you're not hating on them." But he did hate her. Maybe part of the dolt had realized she was a girl, and that's why he treated her with more contempt than anyone else. "That, and some girls are very strong."

"No they aren't."

"Yes, they _are_. Now what are the other reasons?" snapped Kahori, giving him an icy stare.

"Zuko raised an eyebrow, wondering what had brought on such rage. It's not like he had insulted Kah personally.

"Like I'm gonna grace that with a response." Zuko said with a snort.

"You don't grace anything."

"I sense that someone is bitter about their pitiful loss today…"

"Am not!"

Zuko smirked. "Who said anything about _you_? Jeez, you're so full of yourself. Sorry, but not everything is about you."

She could hear the mock in his voice, which only bothered her more. "Right. Sorry. 'Cause, clearly, everything is about that failure of a prince the Fire Nation is stuck with. Can't even capture a bunch of kids."

Zuko gave her a look that shot daggers. Clearly, she had hit a nerve. He rolled over, mumbling something that sounded remarkably like 'meanie.'

"You're calling _me_ a meanie? You're the one who fought me when I'm injured. I wouldn't even have these injuries if it wasn't for you! Plus, 'meanie' is so childish…" No reply. "So _I'm_ the meanie, huh? Is that how you're gonna play? Is it? You… You… Jerk!" As soon as she said it her face flushed with embarrassment. Jerk? Why couldn't she have come up with something better?

Zuko shot off the bed, slamming his fist down on either side of her as he put his face right in hers. "And you need to clean your ears out, 'cause I said _'leave me,' _not _'meanie!'_"

"Well," Kahori said, leaning back as much as she could, "you don't have to be so rude about it." Why did he always have to get so intense? "Oh, and I'm not leaving." As if to leave no room for doubt, she lied down.

Zuko glared at her, not appreciating being contradicted, but also not surprised, considering it was Kah he was dealing with. Kah had made it perfectly clear that Zuko's commands were easily ignored. He rolled his eyes at her, realizing that the only way to get her to leave would be to throw her out, and he didn't have the energy.

Not knowing what Zuko was thinking, Kahori pondered over what to talk about so he wouldn't kick her to the curb. But, for the life of her, she couldn't come up with a topic that wouldn't make the prince pissy. _Screw it.__I'll just bug him with personal questions. Now that I'm stuck with him, I might as well know him._ "So, Princey, do you have a girlfriend, or a fiancée?"

Zuko, a tad reluctant, replied, to her surprised. "No."

"Really?" said Kahori, shocked. She thought that Zuko would have been engaged since birth or something. That's how she thought royal families did things.

"And I'm no man-lover," he added, looking at her as if he thought she was about to jump him.

"What-" She realized that she was smiling. He probably assumed that she thought it was her chance. As if. But… Why _was_ she smiling? She felt a blush creep up her neck. "I wasn't saying that you were."

"Uh-huh…" said Zuko, looking doubtful.

"Why don't girls like you? You _are_ the prince of an entire nation. I would think that would be a selling point…" she drawled, hoping to change the subject.

Zuko gave a sigh, as if he carried the weight of the world, and touched the burn on the left side of his face.

"Does it hurt?" asked Kahori, genuinely concerned.

"No," said Zuko as he collapsed on the bed next to Kahori. "This is what girls don't like about me. They all screech about how ugly it is. The bitches…"

Kahori was taken aback by the harsh words, and normally she would jump to the defense of females, but it was true. A lot of girls put too much weight into appearance. A wave of pity for Zuko washed over her, but she did her best to hide it. "How did you get it?" she asked quietly.

Zuko instantly tensed up beside her, and she could feel the anger building in him. Iroh needed to stress the importance of calming meditation more…

"Nevermind," she cut in, before he could blow.

"Do _you_ have a girlfriend?"

Kahori nearly jumped, she was so surprise. Rolling over to read his expression provided proof that he was being serious. "What brought on a question like that?"

Zuko, who obviously felt a bit awkward asking such a thing, blushed slightly. When he realized what he was doing he rolled to face the wall, finding the sign of emotion shameful. "It's just… I thought that maybe you had a girlfriend or something… Since you keep asking… Even though you claim you're not a guy-lover…"

_I never said I didn't like guys, just that you didn't, _she corrected mentally._ And you say I should clean _my_ ears out…_ She took pleasure from the fact that Zuko's voice didn't have that sharp edge she was becoming use to. Was this some form of the infamous male bonding she had heard rumors of?

"Nah… I've never dated… People think I'm too weird. Plus, I'm not home often."

"Because of your traveling, right?" Zuko turned to face her, to find her expression was that of confusion. "Uncle mentioned that you must have traveled to learn to fight… The first time we battle…"

_Second, actually. _"Oh. Yeah. I traveled."

"Where did you go?" he asked. He clearly didn't care, but was asking anyways.

Kahori decided that she didn't want to see Zuko's reaction to the truth. "Wherever I could learn new techniques…" she lied.

Zuko's only response was a grunt. Her answer hadn't been interesting enough.

But she knew the truth would have captured his attention. For the first time in a long time she felt an urge to tell her story. But opening up to anyone, especially the Fire Nation prince, was foolish. She could see it all so clearly in her mind…

"_**I left Kyoshi after my father lost his mind, and traveled all around for four years," she would explain.**_

"_**Kyoshi? What were you doing at Kyoshi? Don't tell me you trained with them! Those pitiful female warriors couldn't have taught you anything of use…" he would grumble. He would try to seem normal, but a small suspicion would start rising inside of him.**_

"_**They taught me some things, but I still haven't finished my training. And other things they wouldn't accept about me. Like Bending."**_

"_**I thought you said that you couldn't Firebend?" He was beginning to feel uneasy beside his bodyguard. Had Kah been holding back, fearful of hurting the prince of the Fire Nation during their fights? Or was there something much more dangerous going on?**_

"_**I can't. There is more than just Firebending, you know…" She felt him tense up again, but knew she had to keep going. He needed to know the truth.**_

"_**How could you do anything other than Firebending?"**_

"_**Well, considering that I was **_**born**_** on Kyoshi Island…"**_

"**What?" **_**Zuko would shout. "My father would never send a worthless being who wasn't from the Fire Nation! I know I am not in my father's favor, but he would never send such **_**filth**_** my way!"**_

"_**You're right. He wouldn't." Her throat tighten. And now for the grand finale… "I'm a spy for Aang. I originally did this to avenge my mother, but… There have been more complications than I had first thought. You are more secretive with your plans than you are with personal information. Yet, despite that fact, you never let anyone truly know you!"**_

_**Zuko would move away, faster than anyone would have thought possible, as if he had just been burnt.**_

"_**You're no excuse for a man!" He would yell, enraged. At this point nothing could stop him. Kahori had made a fool of him.**_

"_**You're right! That's because I'm a girl! All this time, you have been deceived by an unwanted Kyoshi warrior!"**_

_**His hand would go to her throat, and she would gaze those golden eyes for the last time, at last seeing him at his most intense--ready to kill. And maybe, just maybe, some of the brown would leak back into her irises as she struggled for air, and she would get to see the full circle of gold as his eyes widened. Zuko had finally recognized her from the forest…**_

Zuko shifted, awaking her from her trance. He looked uncomfortable, and she realized that while her imagination had been running wild they had been sitting in silence. "Now will you leave? I want to take a nap."

Kahori frowned, wondering if she could squeeze him for any more information about his life, but decided that she had done enough damage for one day. "Sure… Whatever," she said before turning and walking out. Without eyes in the back of her head she missed the look of shock on Zuko's face, as, for once, she obeyed his command. Instead, she left his quarters, making her way to the training room.

Every Fire Nation ship had an indoor training area, in case it was raining too hard and they couldn't train on the deck. Firebenders really didn't like the rain. Of course, Kahori understood why, but she personally loved water.

In the training area she saw a mildly beaten up punching bag. Without much thought, she began to land a few kicks on it. Eventually she got into the flow of things, her hits becoming more solid. Zuko's face flashed before her eyes, provoking an unnecessarily hard punch.

"Why. Can't. I. Understand. You?" she said through clenched teeth, each word marked by a hit.

"What has that bag ever done to you?"

Kahori whirled around to see Iroh standing in the doorway, sipping his tea. "Um…" was the most intelligent reply she could muster.

"Oh, would you like some tea? It's ginseng! It will help calm your nerves."

"Uh, no. I'm good. Plus, I wouldn't want to get addicted…" said Kahori, eyeing both the tea and the man suspiciously. Iroh shrugged.

"Your loss. So, what did the training equipment do to receive such punishment?"

"Bring someone to mind…" Kahori looked at the ground, a blush rising to her cheeks. She had let her emotions take over her actions. In a proper fight, that could be deadly.

"I can hazard a guess as to whom…" Whether Iroh was agreeing with her about how bothersome Zuko was, or if he was scolding her behavior, Kahori didn't know or care. At the moment, all that mattered was that she was tired, at an all time low from the morning's events. Now was not the time to talk.

"I'm going to go and take a nap. I don't have the strength for anymore of this," she said, gesturing to the bag. "Enjoy your tea, sir." With nothing left to say Kahori slipped past Iroh, and headed back to her room.

"Ugh…" Kahori fell against the wall, a wave of illness washing over her. _You can't be serious…_ She put a hand on her forehead, which was burning. _A fever? Maybe I should've rested a bit more, like the medicine men suggested… _Her legs gave out from beneath her, and she collapsed onto the ground. _Definitely should've rested… But I'm almost there…_

Dizzy from sickness, Kahori pulled herself toward her room. She couldn't tell which way was up, and couldn't open the door until her fifth try. Not even aware of her surroundings, she dragged herself over to the bed, crawled in, and snuggling up in the covers like a child. Her mind was so foggy that it didn't even registered that the bed was already warm. Instead she instinctively cuddled against the heat source, appreciating the warmth. And just like that she fell asleep, enjoying every minute of it.

_(Done! Revamping is such a headache…_

_Sokka: At least you figured out how to-_

_Katara: Shush! She'll mention it later._

_Aang: Stop trying to be such a spoil-sport, Sokka._

_Zuko: Yes, I'm back! And since the world is busy rejoicing in my return, I'll let you off this time, Avatar…_

_Hopefully I'll be able to put out a brand new, never before seen chapter before I leave for camp. I'm off for some fun this weekend, and will be gone for a week. Sorry!)_


	7. Surprise Wake Up Call

_(Author's Note: I'M BACK! Sorry for the __**HUGE**__ delay. College applications and AP classes, ugh. Thanks for your reviews! They made me open up my story files again! I can't apologize enough for making you guys wait this long…._

_XXWrennaXx: Yay! Nobody ever gives Iroh much mind 'cause he's just 'the old guy.' But I think he's so much fun, and I'm glad you do too! If you ever do say that to someone, I wanna know how they react… lol._

_Kinetic Kat: Oh, yeah. Definitely some old guard. Lol. -hugs- I'm sorry for leaving you! I will return as soon as I can! -teary eyed hug- I'm glad you like the story so much!_

_Ryan-Draven57: Eh? Really? I thought he was really weak in the beginning of it all… Maybe I'm just delusional. But don't worry, he learns quickly. Thanks so much for your input!_

_luvableKnegi: The day will come… Though I really can't tell you how soon… Just that it will. -shifty eyes- __Maybe. __-hugs- That's for being so luvable! XP (I know, I'm lame… -.-;)_

_Bloody Midnight: You ask me not to take too long, yet I take forever… Sorry! -hugs- But I'm back. Hopefully I'll be able to stick with it this time…)_

_**Chapter Seven**_

_**Surprise Wake-Up Call**_

"Um… Oh my," said Iroh as he opened the door to Zuko's room. He wasn't surprised that Zuko would have gone to bed after his fight with Kah, but Iroh would have never thought that his nephew would have gone back to sleep _**with**_ Kah.

But, he could not deny his eyes. In Zuko's bed was, of course, the prince himself, but also Kah. She was facing the wall, cuddled into Zuko's bare chest, while Zuko was facing Iroh, his expression soft, as it always was in sleep, and only sleep. One of his arms was lazily thrown over his petite bodyguard. Zuko was holding Kah in such a way that it was best compared with a child cuddling with his favorite teddy bear.

"He can come get his own lunch…" muttered Iroh as he closed the door. The sound, though Iroh had tried to be quiet, was enough to make Kahori stir.

"Just five more minutes…" she whined. When she didn't get a response, she dared to open her eyes, and nearly screamed. _This is bad… What am I going to do?_ she thought, noticing her new roommate.

"Zuko-" she was cut off as Zuko rolled over, forcing her to roll onto her back, trapping her. His hand, which had been resting on her back, managed to find the small bit of skin that had been revealed during sleep, giving her goosebumps. She couldn't suppress the shiver that ran down her spine. Now, her own body weight was keeping his hand underneath her, thus pinning her, so she had no way to safely escape.

Now, most girls might not find this situation all too bad. Here was a prince, good looking in his own special way, with her arm wrapped around her, and he was shirtless. She was reminded of how fit he was, but also how heavy. With Zuko half lying on her, Kahori was breathless from more than just the magic of the moment.

_Still…_ Despite the awkwardness of the situation Kahori couldn't help but think that Zuko was more pleasant when he was asleep, but she missed his golden eyes. She smiled to herself as a blush rose to her cheeks.

"Kah…" Kahori looked at Zuko in surprise, only to realize that he was talking in his sleep. Certain he wasn't going to attack, Kahori told herself to relax. She couldn't help it, she wanted to know what else he would say.

"Kah…" She felt his grip tighten on her back. "You… Idiot…" he grunted. "Do you actually think you were a match for _me_? The mighty Fire Lord Zuko?!"

All of the tension left her body, and she laughed heartily. "Fire Lord! Condemn the Fire Nation to death, why don't you? Only in your dreams!" Kahori chuckled, forgetting to stay quiet. Sure enough, there was a flash of gold as his eyes opened.

"Kah!" Zuko yelled, enraged. He shot up into sitting position, not realizing that his arm was wrapped around her, and because of this, Kahori was pulled up with him. For a moment, he just sat there, trying to figure out why Kah was still pressed against him.

Before Kahori could register what was happening he pulled his hand away, and used it to shove her away. Off balance, and off guard, she fell backwards, right off of the bed. She landed on the hard floor, and her head made a sickeningly _'crack!'_

"You man-lover!" accused Zuko. The angry fire in his eyes was sparkling once again.

"Ow…" said Kahori softly as she propped herself up on one of her elbows. She used her other hand to rub the back of her neck. The sharp pain in the back of her head was enough to make her eyes water, and a blush rose to her cheeks.

"Sorry… I was a bit out of it earlier. Must've crawled into the wrong bed…" Kahori muttered. She swayed, or was it the room?

"Must have? You did it on purpose!" hissed Zuko.

"You sound like a snake-" Before Kahori could finish her sentence, a blanket of darkness covered her eyes, and she passed out.

- - - - -

"Such violence, Zuko…"

"He was in my bed!"

"Did you not invite him to join you?"

"What? _Invite_? Why would I _invite _him to sleep with me?"

"Well… You are a growing into a man, Zuko… And Kah is rather… feminine…"

"How can you…? Will you just _stop_? I did not invite him!"

"Uh-huh…"

Kahori wearily opened her eyes just as Zuko screamed in frustration. Groggily she rubbed the back of her head, watching the two, trying to figure out what was going on.

"Ah… Kah… It's good to see you're awake," said Iroh with a smile. Kahori couldn't help but note that Iroh had tea with him.

"What's…" she started, but stopped as stars began to bloom in her eyes.

"Zuko shoved you out of bed, and gave you a concussion," stated Iroh plainly.

"I didn't mean to! It was a reflex… _He was in my bed!_"

Kohori tried to give Zuko a dark look, but it made her dizzy. "I… Not… Purpose…" Her tongue felt like a lead weight in her mouth, and she couldn't wrap her mind around what she wanted to say for the life of her.

"You seemed to be struggling to speak, yes?" asked Iroh. Though his tone was light his eyes gave away his concern.

Zuko opened his mouth to speak, receiving a swift blow to the arm from his Uncle. "Apparently you aren't, but I will hear no more of your excuses, nephew." He patted Kah's arm. "I know it's not your fault. I bet Zuko forced you to-"

"I did _not_!"

Kahori laughed, but it didn't sound right. This was getting really annoying. Boys received hard hits to the head all the time, and they were no worse for wear. Actually… Blows to the head could explain a lot…

"Here… This should help…" Iroh smiled warmly at her, and she couldn't help but to smile back. Kahori expression fell when she realized what Iroh's gift was. She couldn't hide her horror as Iroh came at her with tea. She didn't want to be an addict! She was too young! She tried to struggled, but couldn't get the right responses from her body.

Kah choked in the process of trying to not swallow the tea, and faced with tea or death she allowed it to slide down her throat, tears welling in her eyes. She bit her lip, doing her best not to cry. You only have to try something once to get addicted… And, the fact that the tea tasted nice only made her feel more at risk.

"Uncle, I think that damaged him far more than what _I_ did…" drawled Zuko, taking in the pathetic sight before him.

"I said no more excuses, Zuko. This tea was actually suggested by the Head Medicine Man." From Iroh's words Kah drew some relief, but it was still a form of _tea_. But, if it was prescribed tea…

Carefully, she propped herself up in bed, having to push past the woozy feeling. She swayed, and felt Iroh's arm on her shoulder, supporting her. He set the tea in her lap, and she carefully picked it up, and even using both hands the cup still shook violently, a good amount of tea managing to escape and make a mess of the infirmary's bed covers. "Sorry," she mumbled, before taking a sip, grateful for the rare warmth that didn't burn. She had almost forgotten that everything that produced some kind of heat didn't necessarily have to be searing.

She drank slowly, feeling the fog lift from her mind. She managed to restrict her hands to only tremors, and had soon drank the entire cup.

"Now, for Zuko's lesson today…" Kahori said, glad to find that talking was coming easier now.

"Kah, do not worry yourself. Rest and get better. You are in no condition to fight," said Iroh, his voice fatherly stern.

"I am quite aware of that," Kahori replied, peeved that he would think she was so foolish. "I was thinking a lecture on technique instead of demonstrating. May I…?"

Iroh's eyes widened in surprised. "Why, yes, of course."

Kahori nodded, and leaned back, deep into her pillow, wondering how was the best way to do this. She closed her eyes, thinking about the images she wanted to express, and hoping to high heaven that she wouldn't make a mess out of it.

"Not only do the types of Bending differ in the element it controls, but also in the way in which you control the element. Waterbenders must flow all their movements together, making them streamline. Even if the do several completely different things with the water, they must connect all the pieces together as if they were one. Earthbenders are much harder with their movements, like the rocks they possess. They take strong stances and stomp. Everything is sharp, and at perfect angles. Earthbenders rely a lot on their feet, because that is what is in contact with their element. They stomp to make a connection and add power, their hands are merely tools for controlling the earth once they have started to use it. Of course, there are exceptions. Though your average Benders need their hands and feet for the best control, some of the great masters are said to be able to bend without them."

"Then what do they Bend with?" interrupted Zuko, leaning forward in his chair.

"How am I suppose to know? Do I look like a master Bender to you?"

Zuko grunted his agreement, falling backwards in his seat with a large thump. "That was helpful," he muttered.

"It is," agreed Kahori as if she had not noticed his sarcasm. "Imagine how a fight with an Earthbender would go if their legs weren't long enough to touch the ground? Some of the greatest fighters against Benders can throw off the rhythm of the Bending, and weaken their control."

"So if I disable their rhythm…"

"But it won't always work. Like I said, the masters might be unaffected."

"Like the Avatar…" growled Zuko. Kahori didn't even have to open her eyes to know what Zuko looked like. He would be hunched forward, his elbows resting on his legs, his hands in fists. His brow knitted, and his perpetual frown deepened. His entire body would be rigid with tension.

Just to make sure Kahori opened her eyes slightly, glancing at him from under her eyelashes. She couldn't help her smile as her eyes confirmed her suspicion. "So predictable…" she whispered to herself. Then, loud enough for Zuko to hear she continued, "and the Avatar hasn't mastered the elements to that extent. Yes, he is gifted, and will pick up on Bending quickly, but he is a child, and because of the war, he is rushed.

"But let's get back to the main lesson, okay? Where was I? Oh, yeah. As for Airbenders, all their movements are light, flexible, and can change direction before you can blink."

Another growl from Zuko.

"Don't be so upset. You need to appreciate the air. After all, fire cannot exist without it. With no oxygen, fire dies along with everything living." She paused for a moment, allowing the information to sink in. "And that brings me to Firebending. Unlike the other Benders, who all need their element to already be present to wield it, you _make_ your element. And because of this, it is the hardest to control. Fire is _alive_. It has a mind of it's own. Firebending is a dance, and the flames are your partner. If it cannot follow your lead, it will betray you and go do as it wants."

Kahori cracked her eyes open, meeting Zuko's gaze. "You understand?"

Zuko nodded gravely. "I believe I do."

Iroh broke into a wide smile. "At last, he understands the basics! We should drink tea to celebrate."

Kahori frowned as Iroh called over a nearby infirmary worker to give his request. "You might want to hold off on that, sir. He understands the _concept_. Once I'm allowed to assist in his training again, I'll make sure he learns how to apply it."

Zuko glared at her, and she held his gaze, unwavering.

"You sure know your Bending for one who cannot," remarked Iroh. Kahori gave no response, and a silence fell over the room.

Abruptly Zuko stood off, his eyes were out of focus, and Kahori knew he was still mulling over all she had told him. "I'm going to return to my quarters."

Iroh stood up as well. "Good idea, nephew. We have disturbed Kah for far too long, He needs his rest."

Kahori watched Zuko as he made his way out of the room, and as soon as the door shut behind him she turned to Iroh, who was still gathering up his tea supplies.

"Sir, if I may make a request?"

Iroh looked up, his eyes wide. Smoothly his expression turned to that of a smile, his head tilted slightly to the side. "And what is this request?"

"A way for Zuko to grasp the basics." Just imagining it, Kahori could not resist the grin that spread across her face.

_(Author's Note: I know, not terribly exciting. That's probably why it took me so long to finish this chapter. But, with this there comes good news. If all goes according to plan, then the next chapter should be far more amusing, with plenty of laughs and giggles for all! And since I should enjoy writing it a lot more, it shouldn't take me 3 months… Once again, terribly sorry… But thanks for all your support! I hope you will continue reading!)_


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